Wake-on-LAN Setup

Wake-on-LAN (WOL) allows your server to be powered on remotely by sending a special network packet.

How It Works

1. Your server’s NIC receives a “magic packet” containing its MAC address
2. The NIC signals the motherboard to power on
3. The system boots normally

Prerequisites

• Ethernet connection (WiFi WOL is rarely supported)
• Motherboard/BIOS with WOL support
• NIC with WOL capability
• Server must be in S5 (soft-off) state

BIOS/UEFI Configuration

Enter BIOS setup (usually Del, F2, or F12 at boot) and enable:

Setting	Common Names
Wake-on-LAN	WOL, Wake on LAN, Power On by PCI-E
Network Boot	PXE Boot, Network Stack (not required, but often in same menu)
Deep Sleep	Disable if WOL not working

Location varies by manufacturer:

• ASUS: Advanced → APM Configuration → Power On By PCI-E
• MSI: Settings → Advanced → Wake Up Event Setup → Resume By PCI-E Device
• Gigabyte: Power → Wake on LAN
• Dell: Power Management → Wake on LAN
• HP: Power → Hardware Power Management → S5 Wake on LAN

Linux Network Configuration

Some NICs require WOL to be explicitly enabled at the OS level before shutdown.

Check current status

sudo ethtool eth0 | grep Wake-on

• g = WOL enabled (magic packet)
• d = WOL disabled

Enable WOL

sudo ethtool -s eth0 wol g

Make persistent

The setting resets on reboot. To persist:

systemd (recommended)

Create /etc/systemd/system/wol.service:

[Unit]
Description=Enable Wake-on-LAN
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/usr/sbin/ethtool -s eth0 wol g

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable it:

sudo systemctl enable wol.service

NetworkManager

nmcli connection modify "Wired connection 1" 802-3-ethernet.wake-on-lan magic

/etc/network/interfaces (Debian)

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp
    ethernet-wol g

Finding Your MAC Address

ip link show eth0
# Look for "link/ether aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff"

Or:

cat /sys/class/net/eth0/address

Testing WOL

From another machine on the same network:

# Install wakeonlan
sudo apt install wakeonlan

# Send magic packet
wakeonlan aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff

Your server should power on within a few seconds.

Troubleshooting

Server doesn’t wake

1. Check BIOS settings - WOL must be enabled
2. Check NIC settings - Run ethtool eth0 to verify WOL is enabled
3. Check power state - Server must be in S5 (soft shutdown), not hard powered off
4. Check network - Sender must be on same broadcast domain
5. Check MAC address - Verify the correct MAC is configured

WOL works once then stops

• NIC WOL setting may reset after shutdown
• Create a systemd service to re-enable on boot (see above)

Deep sleep issues

Some systems enter S4 (hibernate) or disconnect NIC in sleep:

• Disable “Deep Sleep” or “ErP” in BIOS
• Ensure “Power On After Power Failure” is enabled

Testing from articwake

After configuring your server, test from articwake:

# SSH into the Pi
ssh root@<articwake-ip>

# Install wakeonlan
apk add wakeonlan

# Test directly
wakeonlan aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff